West Asheville Art Walk: A Great Success!

"West Art Walk is an amazing way to see the talent residing in your neighborhood. It's a great event because 100% of the products purchased benefits the local artist and the money stays in the Asheville community. On top of that you get to keep a forever piece by the neighbor/artist you just met!"-Stuart Engel

On Saturday, November 7, 2015 Provision Asheville hosted the first annual West Asheville Art Walk. We had 40 local artists participate by setting up tables and selling their unique artwork. There was a variety of mediums including photography, painting, pottery, handmade jewelry, soaps, apparel and more.

Local businesses helped make this event happen by opening up their spaces for artists. We could not have done this without their support.

Our goals were met!

Our first goal was to provide free space for local artists to sell their work. We know that prices can be incredibly high for renting out studio or gallery space and we want to support the artists by allowing them to benefit from events like these.

Secondly, we wanted to bring art into West Asheville and connect it with the community members. We don’t have the exact numbers of how many people came through the event, but we’re certain it was well over 200!

Thirdly, we hoped to allow relationships to be built among artists, businesses, and the community This most certainly happened as we have heard that many of the artists and patrons were able to talk with business owners and enjoy food, drinks, and the space and artists networked among themselves.

Last, but not least, we wanted to share information about who Provision Asheville is and what we are doing in the community. We were able to share our mission and initiatives with many community members at the event.

We have asked for feedback from the artists and we are so excited to hear that they loved the event and want it to take place again! That means you can definitely expect a 2nd annual West Asheville Art Walk in 2016 and the possibility of smaller events throughout the year as well. We have also picked up some great tips and thoughts for next years event to make it even better.

ARTIST QUOTES

This is a terrific idea! It gives local artists a chance to get seen and make some money at an affordable price while supporting the local businesses all in one swoop. -Alien Menace

Thank you for the opportunity to show our pet portraits to West Asheville! We met a lot of groovy artists and enjoyed speaking with the community. We would absolutely do another show with Provision Asheville! - Amber and Greg Kleid @ Kleidoscope Studios

West AVL Art Walk allowed me to hang out with some of my favorite local artists, Meet new artists & crafts people who shared production tips, and potential new clients... all under the hood of a Rock N Roll bar. - Joshua Marc Levy, Asheville Art Family

I had a lot of fun chatting with passersby as I spun up my rabbits' wool on my spinning wheel during the West Asheville Art Walk! -Heidi Kouri of Good Fortune Fiber

The Asheville Art Walk brings together all avenues of Asheville's artists and crafters. To see the creativity of others is truly inspiring. ~Sharon Hanson, The Yarn Poet

The West Asheville Art Walk is a great event and an awesome way to showcase the work of local artists. As an artist I really appreciated the opportunity to get some of my work out there, especially for free! I would love to see more of these events in the future!-Tim Bromley

First Artist Event for West Asheville, a small ember that can only shine brighter in the future. Mark Atkinson was very accommodating and friendly to me and all of the artist in his store, to Mark and all of the store owners. Thank you. -Steve Young Out Of Doors Photo.

This was a quality event from all sides. It was a great way for me to meet and connect with other local artists. It was also a wonderful and relaxed way to connect with other people in the community. I look forward to the next one. - Kimberly Masters

OTHER QUOTES

West Asheville Art Walk was wonderful! Provision Asheville has created an amazing, one of a kind event for area artists making it possible for everyone to be able to afford the gift of art! Bravo!

The Art Walk is a fantastic opportunity to meet local artists and support them by purchasing their art, all while getting to know and enjoy what the local business scene has to offer.